Ryan Newman Practice Num 2 For Lenox Industrial Tools 300 Results

Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge team had their second practice at New Hampshire International Speedway today for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Lenox Industrial Tools 300
Newman had the 2 fastest practice speed of 126.761 mph / 30.047 sec.

Newman was -0.004 seconds behind the leader Jimmie Johnson who had a practice time of 126.778 / 30.043.


Practice 2 Results

Practice 1 Results

Qualifying Order



Good luck to Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge Penske Racing Team in the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway

Ryan Newman Qualified 12th for the Lenox Industrial Tools 300.

Ryan Newman has qualified 12 for the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at the New Hampshire International Speedway. Newman had a speed of 128.242 / 29.7 / -0.274.

Today's 12th place qualifying will give Newman and his #12 NASCAR Nextel Cup Team and average start this season of 16.67.

Dave Blaney got the pole position for the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 with a time of 91.589 / 78.219.

Good luck to Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge Penske Racing Team in the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway

Qualifying Order

Practice 1 Results

Ryan Newman's Practice Num 1 For Lenox Industrial Tools 300 Results

Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge team had their first practice at New Hampshire International Speedway today for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Lenox Industrial Tools 300

Newman had the 2nd fastest practice speed of 129.208 mph / 29.478 sec.

Newman was -0.04 seconds behind the leader Dave Blaney who had a practice time of 129.384 / 29.438.



Practice 1 Results

Good luck to Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge Penske Racing Team in the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway

Newman well qualified at N.H. track

By Seth Livingstone, USA TODAY
No NASCAR driver is faster than Ryan Newman when it comes to Nextel Cup qualifying.
The driver of the No. 12 Dodge recently passed Hall of Fame driver David Pearson to top the chart in career pole percentage. This season, Newman has four poles in his first 14 races, tying Mark Martin for 11th all time with 41.

This weekend, Newman races at New Hampshire International Speedway where no driver has won more poles (four).

Newman's 41 poles have come in 204 career starts. Martin has started 686 races. Richard Petty is the sport's all-time leader in poles with 123 in 1,184 races. Jeff Gordon, the leader among active drivers with 61 poles (five this season), has 489 starts.

The bottom line: Once in every five starts, Newman sits on the inside of the front row.

His secret from the driver's seat? "Hit that line, stay on the line and do it fast," Newman says. "It's about optimizing the grip and the balance so I can do what I need to do on a lap or lap-and-a-half."

Behind Newman is a unit just as focused. Mike Nelson, crew chief for the Penske Racing team, says he places more emphasis on qualifying well than some other teams might.

"Qualifying is important to us," he says. "If it's not as important to some other guys, then maybe that's an advantage for us." Preparing a car for a qualifying lap — putting it in "qualifying trim" — differs slightly from race preparation.

"For the most part, it's about aerodynamics," Nelson says.

Unlike 2003 when Newman sat on the pole 11 times and won eight races, he hasn't won in 2007.

"I'm not frustrated at all," says Newman, who is 13th in points and contending for a spot in the Chase for the Cup. "We're knocking on the door of victory."

Ryan Newman and the New Hampshire International Speedway

Welcome to New Hampshire International Speedway located in Loudon, NH.

Ryan Newman and his Penske Racing #12 Alltel Dodge will be racing here this weekend in the Camping World 200 presented by RVs.com.
New Hampshire International Speedway


***Location : Loudon, NH
***Completed : 1990
***Distance : 1.058 miles
***Shape : Oval
***Seating : 91,000


***Nextel Cup Top Race Speed : 117.134 by Jeff Burton on 7/13/1997
***Nextel Cup Top Qualifying Speed : 133.357 by Ryan Newman on 9/12/2003


MANUFATURER WINS AT New Hampshire International Speedway SINCE 2002
DODGE = 2
FORD = 3
CHEVROLET = 5


RYAN NEWMAN'S STATS AT New Hampshire International Speedway

Ryan Newman's Stats
At New Hampshire International Speedway		At Intermediate Tracks
STARTS	10	133
POLES	4	NA
WINS	2	11
TOP 5	5	41
TOP 10	7	57
AVG START	5.8	8.1
AVG FINISH	11.4	17.1
LAPS COMP	2848	NA
% COMP	-0.9493	NA
LAPS LED	515	NA
TOTAL $$$	1397747	NA

-- Crew chief Mike Nelson and the Alltel team are taking chassis PRS-513 to Loudon as their primary car. The Dodge Avenger was last used at Darlington Raceway in May where Newman qualified 29th and finished fourth. Chassis PRS-509 is the backup car. It was tested at Richmond in April and has been the backup car at many of the Car of Tomorrow races. However, it has not been used in a race.

Newman on New Hampshire: "I like running at Loudon; it’s a fun track to race at. I’ve had some really good success here in the past and I look forward to racing here every year. We’ve got a really good chance to win at this track and (crew chief) Mike (Nelson) and the whole team have done a great job this whole year giving me fast race cars. I think we’ll have a really good chance of getting the pole this weekend, leading laps and competing for the win.”





Good luck to Ryan Newman and the Penske Racing's #12 Alltel Dodge NASCAR Nextel Cup Team at New Hampshire International Speedway for the Camping World 200 presented by RVs.com this coming week and weekend!!!


Mike Pratt

Newman Continues To Fight His Way To The Title Chase

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (June 26, 2007) – Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Avenger, didn’t leave Infineon Raceway with the finish he wanted, having to settle for 20th, but it was still enough to boost him up two spots in the drivers’ standings to 13th.

With 10 races remaining before the fourth annual "Chase for the Championship" begins, Newman is 96 points out of 12th, this year's cut-off position for the title chase.

This weekend, Newman and the Alltel Dodge team head to New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, N.H., for the LENOX Industrial Tools 300 and a good chance at making the Chase for the third time in four years. Loudon is the site of Newman’s last win in the Cup series, which occurred in September 2005, as well as the first in his Cup career. This will be Newman’s 11th start at the track and his 205th in the Cup series.

Newman has an average start of 5.8 at NHIS – the best among active drivers – and an average finish of 11.4 – third among active drivers behind Denny Hamlin (5.0) and Matt Kenseth (10.9). Newman has only two starts outside the top 10 – a 16th and a 13th – and has earned four Bud Pole Awards, second behind Jeff Gordon (5). Newman earned his second pole award of 2006 at this same race last year.

Along with his eight top-10 starts, Newman has seven top-10 finishes at Loudon, including two wins. Of the seven top-10 finishes, five of those have been from the top five.

Newman has led a lap in nine of his 10 races at Loudon for a total of 515 laps. Only Jeff Burton, Gordon and Tony Stewart have led more laps than Newman among the active drivers. Newman has completed 97.7 percent of the laps possible at New Hampshire – 2,848 of 2,915 – since he made his Cup debut at the track in 2002.

“I like running at Loudon; it’s a fun track to race at. I’ve had some really good success here in the past and I look forward to racing here every year,” Newman said. “We’ve got a really good chance to win at this track and (crew chief) Mike (Nelson) and the whole team have done a great job this whole year giving me fast race cars. I think we’ll have a really good chance of getting the pole this weekend, leading laps and competing for the win.”

Nelson and the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Avenger team will take chassis PRS-513 as the primary car to Loudon. This COT car ran at Darlington Raceway in May where Newman qualified 29th and finished fourth.

The back-up car for New Hampshire is PRS-509, which was tested at Richmond in April and has been the back-up car at many of the Car of Tomorrow races. However, it has yet to see action during a race.

Coverage of Sunday's LENOX Industrial Tools 300 from NHIS begins at 1 p.m. EDT. TNT and MRN Radio will broadcast the race live.

Kodak Gives Fans the Opportunity to 'INK' Ryan Newman's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series No. 12 DODGE

ROCHESTER, N.Y., June 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eastman Kodak Company is asking fans what they think about ink. Following its debut in the inkjet printer market in March, Kodak is giving race fans a once in a lifetime opportunity to design the paint scheme and have their name "inked" on NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Ryan Newman's No. 12 KODAK DODGE.

One lucky fan's winning car design, along with his/her name, will be inked on Newman's No. 12 car for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series 500 race at California Speedway on September 2. The winner will also receive a NASCAR prize package, including two tickets to the NASCAR Busch Series (September 1) and Nextel Cup races, transportation and VIP access to the California Speedway. To enter the contest or obtain details, visit http://www.thinklikeryan.com/.

"Speed, innovation and performance are essential for success on the track, but they are also hallmarks of the new KODAK EASYSHARE Printers," said Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 KODAK DODGE at California Speedway. "This contest is a great way for consumers to showcase their own creativity with ink, and I'm certain the winning design will be imaginative."

The grand-prize winner will also receive a KODAK EASYSHARE 5300 All-In-One Inkjet Printer. Kodak's line of new printers offer incredible value, with low ink prices that save consumers up to 50 percent on everything they print compared to similar consumer inkjet printers*. The winner will also receive a 12-month supply of high-quality pigment ink courtesy of Kodak.

"Kodak is an innovative imaging solutions leader, with our new line of EASYSHARE All-in-One Inkjet Printers as the latest example," said Michael Korizno, Chief Marketing Officer, Consumer Digital Imaging, Eastman Kodak Company. "As the official imaging sponsor of NASCAR, Kodak is thrilled to give consumers the chance to design our race car and we look forward to seeing Ryan drive the freshly 'inked' No. 12 KODAK DODGE into victory lane."

Enter to Win -- Visit http://www.thinklikeryan.com/ for an official contest entry form and official contest rules -- Every entry must include the Kodak logotype and "Think" logo on the hood and the numeral "12" on the side and top of car -- Winning paint scheme will be based on design rendering and NASCAR specifications -- Submit scanned entry on http://www.thinklikeryan.com/ or mail the paper form directly to Kodak (see Web site for address) -- Entry deadline is 12:00 A.M. Tuesday, July 31 -- Must be 18 years of age or older to enter Contest Judging

The top five designs will be revealed live on FOX Sports Net's "The Best Damn Sports Show. Period" at the beginning of August. Fans can cast their vote from August 3-10 at http://www.thinklikeryan.com/. The winning design will be unveiled during the weekend of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series 500 race at California Speedway.

About Eastman Kodak Company

Kodak is the world's foremost imaging innovator. With sales of $10.7 billion in 2006, the company is committed to a digitally oriented growth strategy focused on helping people better use meaningful images and information in their life and work. Consumers use Kodak's system of digital and traditional products and services to take, print and share their pictures anytime, anywhere; Businesses effectively communicate with customers worldwide using Kodak solutions for prepress, conventional and digital printing and document imaging; and Creative Professionals rely on Kodak technology to uniquely tell their story through moving or still images

More information about Kodak is available at http://www.kodak.com/.

*Savings based on home printing of documents and photos, using average ink costs of comparable consumer inkjet printers. Actual results may vary. For more information visit http://www.kodak.com/go/inkdata for details.

LOUDON/LENOX INDUSTRIAL TOOLS 300 PREVIEW

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Avenger, will make his 11th Cup start at New Hampshire International Speedway. It will be his 205th career start in the Cup Series.

Newman has an average start of 5.8 and an average finish of 11.4. He has only two starts outside the top 10—a 16th and a 13th—and has earned four Bud Pole Awards. Newman earned his second pole award of 2006 at this same race last year.

Newman has seven top-10 finishes at NHIS, including two wins. His last win came at Loudon in September 2005. Of his seven top-10 finishes, five of them have been in the top five.

Newman has led 515 laps in nine of his 10 races at Loudon. He has completed 97.7 percent of the laps possible at New Hampshire—2,848 of 2,915 — since he made his Cup debut at the track in 2002.

Crew chief Mike Nelson and the Alltel team are taking chassis PRS-513 to Loudon as their primary car. The Dodge Avenger was last used at Darlington Raceway in May where Newman qualified 29th and finished fourth. Chassis PRS-509 is the backup car. It was tested at Richmond in April and has been the backup car at many of the Car of Tomorrow races. However, it has not been used in a race.

Newman on New Hampshire: "I like running at Loudon; it’s a fun track to race at. I’ve had some really good success here in the past and I look forward to racing here every year. We’ve got a really good chance to win at this track and (crew chief) Mike (Nelson) and the whole team have done a great job this whole year giving me fast race cars. I think we’ll have a really good chance of getting the pole this weekend, leading laps and competing for the win.”

Penske's palace - Complex situation: 3 racing circuits under one roof

By JILL ERWIN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER


Beyond everything else, Roger Penske is a businessman.

To a man, his drivers and Penske Racing President Tim Cindric speak of Penske's forward thinking, his business acumen and his ability to be one step ahead.

Penske was the first to roll into Indianapolis with all his crewmen attired in uniform and with close-cropped hair. Cindric points out that Penske was the first to introduce hospitality areas in racetrack infields. Now, a megacomplex in Mooresville, N.C.

How large is it? Penske says he hopes to solidify plans by the end of summer for a test track he will build there. His teams won't even have to leave the property to turn laps on a top-level test track, possibly a three-quarter-miler like Richmond International Raceway.

"He has a notorious reputation for being on the cutting edge of developing new ways and new trends in race shops," Nextel Cup driver Kurt Busch said.

The sprawling Penske complex is not just any race shop.

Two buildings, three teams, 424,697 square feet, on 105 acres. A nearly-5,000-square-foot gift shop. A 330-foot fan walk. One million pounds (250,000 pieces) of Italian tile on the floor. And nearly 1,000 linear feet of photos displaying the history of the teams contained therein.

If you visit the complex, IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves says beware.

"The bad thing is you are going to exercise a lot, when you go to one building to another," Castroneves said. "When you leave [one] place, leave it with everything. Make sure you don't go back."

The complex has cost Penske $22 million ($7 million to buy, $15 million in infrastructure), but it signifies so much more.

The purchase allowed Penske to consolidate his IndyCar Series shop, his NASCAR shop and his American Le Mans Series shop into one site. Previously, the IndyCars were based in Reading, Pa.

The new site made things easier for Penske and Cindric. It allowed for the formation of one central office staff along with putting all engineering and machine shop work under one roof. It eliminated the need for travel between shops.

Penske said it gives his employees a chance to diversify. It is no coincidence that the property is situated on Penske Way, since that's the guiding principle for how Penske runs his businesses.

"We try to hire the best people who are committed to doing our way of business. It's all about our people, our relationships and continuity. We get people who want to be loyal, we do it the right way, and we're in business to develop a team. This is a people business."

His drivers will testify to Penske's people skills. They speak of how he makes them want to be better. How his passion inspires each of them. How his drive to be the best makes each of them rise to a higher level.

And it's quite the stable he's collected. Now under one roof are the racing operations of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Castroneves, defending and three-time IndyCar champion Sam Hornish, 2004 Nextel Cup champ Busch, and one of Nextel Cup's best qualifiers in Ryan Newman.

While overall there is an impact with the new shop -- "If people are happy where they are living, people are happy where they are working, and vice versa," Castroneves said -- none of the drivers says there has been an immediate change in his team's production because of it.

Cindric says it's not an overnight process. And to Penske, all of the benefits might not be seen in the standings right away.

"From a sponsor standpoint, it has really been a home run," Penske said. "That's the revenue for us. They see it as a place they can bring their people, use it as a different experience, and we have the infrastructure to provide all the things they need."

It also keeps Penske one step ahead of his competitors.

Chip Ganassi fields IndyCar and NASCAR teams as well, but said Penske's operation is older, more mature. Ganassi said it's the right move for Penske . . . but likely not yet the right move for him.

"I am looking closely, always looking closely, at our competitors and how they're doing things," Ganassi said. "If there's an opportunity there, we'll take advantage of that when we can make sense of it."

For Cindric, who added supervision of the NASCAR teams to his duties when the shop merger was announced, it's about Penske's vision.

"The thing I learned early on, you don't tell him that something's not possible, you give him a solution for how it can be achieved," Cindric said. "I remember the first time early on that I told him 'We can't do that.' He said, 'Can't we get this helicopter and meet it with this airplane and do this and do that?' And I said 'If you want to go to that extreme, of course we can.' That gave me a whole different perspective on how his mind works and how passionate he is about success."

No. 24, No. 48 teams penalized

****At least they are staying consistant with Dael Earnhardt JR's penalty. Should Chad be penalized more?? Don't know!

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were docked 100 points each Tuesday, and their crew chiefs were both fined $100,000 and suspended for six races for violations at Infineon Raceway.

The two Hendrick Motorsports cars failed an initial inspection Friday in Sonoma, Calif., when NASCAR officials found unapproved modifications to the fenders on their Chevrolets. NASCAR refused to let either driver on the track the entire day, and neither was allowed to qualify.
But the fenders were fixed, the cars passed inspection Saturday and were allowed to race Sunday. Gordon, the four-time series champion, finished seventh while defending Nextel Cup champion Johnson was 17th.

Gordon remains the Nextel Cup points leader after the deduction, but his margin was cut to 171 points over Denny Hamlin. Johnson dropped from third to fifth.

But both will have to race through the summer without their crew chiefs. Chad Knaus and Steve Letarte are not eligible to return to the track until Aug. 15. The crew chiefs also were placed on probation through the end of the year.

Car owner Rick Hendrick said he was disappointed and called the penalties "excessive."

"Right now, all of our options are being evaluated, including our personnel situation and a possible appeal to the National Stock Car Racing Commission," Hendrick said in a statement. "We'll take some time to decide on a direction and make an announcement regarding our plans for New Hampshire later in the week."

Gordon and Johnson are the most dominant drivers in NASCAR this season — they've won four races each — and Hendrick Motorsports has 10 victories this year.

Hendrick traveled to California after the failed inspection, and argued his crew chiefs were operating in a "gray area" of the NASCAR rule book as it pertains to the new Car of Tomorrow.

"I don't necessarily say they bent the rules — I think they thought they were working inside an area in which they could," Hendrick said. "It's going to be tough, as we go forward, on what's intentional and what's accidental and how they handle it, so you're definitely going to have to show up with these things measured up."

But NASCAR has insisted this season that there no longer are any questionable parts of the rule book, particularly when it comes to the COT. Teams were warned in March that any infractions dealing with the car were subjected to a loss of 100 points, a $100,000 fine and a six-race suspension.

NASCAR adhered to those guidelines last month when it penalized Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., for modifications found on the wing of their COT at Darlington Raceway.

Now the Hendrick teams have been hit with the same penalties, although many believed Knaus — a repeat offender — should have received a stiffer punishment.

This is at least the 15th time Knaus has been penalized for something during his crew chief career, and this was his fourth suspension since 2001. He sat out four races last season when NASCAR found illegal modifications following Johnson's qualifying run for the Daytona 500.

Johnson went on to win the 500, and again at Las Vegas, without Knaus. The two reunited in March and went on to win their first championship.

NASCAR files response in AT&T lawsuit

In the ongoing NASCAR-AT&T legal battle, NASCAR attorneys wonder whether the Playboy bunny logo would have to be considered for the No.31 Richard Childress Racing car if Cingular had merged, for instance, with the men's magazine.

NASCAR uses that exaggerated hypothetical situation in its latest legal brief as part of an appeal of a May 18 injunction that allows the AT&T logos to replace the Cingular logos on the Jeff Burton car.

AT&T has argued that by being involved in a merger with Cingular parent company BellSouth, its branding should be given the same grandfathered-in status as the Cingular marks were when Nextel began sponsoring the Cup Series in 2004.

NASCAR says that can't be the case:

"Imagine Cingular were acquired by Playboy, changed its trade-name to Playboy and 'adopted' the Playboy marks," NASCAR's attorneys write in their latest brief. "Cingular cannot seriously claim that it could force RCR to use the Playboy marks. Nor can Cingular seriously argue that NASCAR could be compelled to permit display of the Playboy brand.

"More realistically, imagine if Cingular were acquired by Google. During some of the relevant period another race car owned by RCR was sponsored by a Google competitor, AOL. As in the RCR-Cingular Agreement, AOL had exclusive advertising rights for its category within RCR.

"Under Cingular's reading of [its] Cingular-RCR Agremment, it would be permitted to 'adopt' the Google brand and 'place' it on Car No. 31, thereby rendering RCR in violation of its other contractual undertakings - all without RCR's express written consent."

NASCAR's 37-page brief includes many of its previous arguments, including that as a private organization it should be allowed to approve and disapprove paint schemes.

The appeal is scheduled to be heard Aug. 2 in Atlanta.

DEI can't sell No. 8 to Hendrick

Hendrick Motorsports will not be able to purchase the No. 8 from Dale Earnhardt Inc., nor is DEI allowed to sell it to Hendrick or any other team.

NASCAR on Monday reiterated its long-standing policy that the sanctioning body owns and assigns all car numbers, and spokesman Ramsey Poston said a team cannot sell its car number to another team on its own accord.

“NASCAR owns the numbers and licenses them to teams on an annual basis,” Poston said. “A team may allow another team to use the number for that year pending NASCAR’s approval.” The numbers, however, are not for sale, Poston said.

Poston said each year a team submits numbers it wishes to use. If a team has been using that number, it is generally reissued. If a team chooses to relinquish the number, the number returns to NASCAR and it will assign it to another team that has requested it. NASCAR plays no role in why or how a team decides to no longer request a number’s use.

Asked if a team could make a financial arrangement with another team to encourage it to give up the use of a number, Poston said NASCAR would discourage such arrangements.

Sonoma: Dodge teams race quotes

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 alltel Dodge Avenger)
“It was unfortunate. We got beat by fuel mileage. We did what we had to do to get to the end and that was it. Those other guys got the fuel mileage. Our strategy just didn’t win the race. We got a 20th place finish with a top-seven race car. That’s disappointing.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Avenger)

“It was a good day. It was tough. You don’t know how fast you are. I was patient. We made some changes on the car and that made a difference it was good. We had good restarts and it was hard when we were behind traffic because in turns 7 and 11 you have to get on the gas and it was really hard. It was easy to spin the wheels. I knew I was running third with 10 to go and I didn’t want to finish third. I picked up the pace a little bit and at the same time I was trying to roll the car as much as I could. I was just being very patient.

“I’ll tell you the truth. I was very surprised by the level of the drivers here. In Mexico I had a very good car and the drivers were very strong, but here, man the top 20 were — you had to work for your money. At the end we were right behind Kevin and I was saving the tires. I just tried to keep up with him for 15-20 laps and when I started pushing it I everything fell into place. That was huge. I think this will be a big boost for everybody working in the shop.”

DAVID STREMME (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Avenger)

“It looked like we were going to have a decent finish, but it didn’t turn out that way.”

***

REED SORENSON (No. 41 Target Dodge Avenger)

“We ran up front for awhile, and that felt good. Now we’ve got to figure out how to stay up front.”

***

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Avenger)

“Some guys could make it on two stops. Some guys could make it on three. We were on a two-stop strategy and it ended up being three. It wasn’t good for us. We could have made the car a little better. We’ll come back at The Glen with a stronger Dodge Avenger. We got tagged in turn 11 by Montoya, a Formula One winner and a NASCAR winner. That doesn’t happen every day.”

***

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Avenger)

“We had a pretty good car but just didn’t get our fuel strategy to work the way we wanted. I’m feeling better about road course racing and I think the guys have a handle on the Dodge Avenger for road courses. We qualified well and ran pretty well most of the race. Sometimes the cautions don’t fall your way. If they had, we could have had a much better day.”

***

BOBBY LABONTE (No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Avenger)

“It looked like we were headed for a top-five finish, and then we ran out of fuel and finished 33rd. Big difference.”

KYLE PETTY (No. 45 Wells Fargo Dodge Avenger)

“We had a good car today and I think we had a good strategy, but we came up a little bit short.”

Fuel Mileage Bites Newman, Busch In Season's First Road Course Race

SONOMA, Calif. (June 24, 2007) – Penske Racing's NASCAR teams knew pit strategy was the key to a good finish in Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, but the fuel mileage issue bit Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch, leaving them in the middle of the pack at the conclusion of the season's first road course race.

Newman's Alltel Dodge Avenger finished 20th, while Busch's Miller Lite Dodge Avenger placed 22nd.

“It was unfortunate. We got beat by fuel mileage,” said Newman, who started ninth. “We did what we had to do to get to the end and that was it. Those other guys got the fuel mileage. Our strategy just didn’t win the race. We got a 20th-place finish with a top-seven race car. That’s disappointing.”

Despite the disappointing finish, Newman still gained two positions in the point standings, moving up to 13th. He is now 96 points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 12th, the cut-off position for this year's title chase.

Newman and his Alltel team chose to remain on the track when the seventh and final caution period began on lap 68 of the 110-lap race. With a pit window of 35 to 38 laps, the Alltel team believed the drivers who stopped during the yellow would have to pit again before the checkered flag. When the race returned to green-flag conditions on lap 70, Newman was fourth.

With 37 laps remaining, Newman was third, but he still had to make his final stop, a move that would leave him 30th with 27 laps to go. Of the cars that had stopped on lap 68, more made it to the finish than were expected and that left Newman in the middle of the pack when the checkered flag waved.

Busch had a similar experience, but he also was involved in a lap 61 incident with eventual winner Juan Pablo Montoya. Busch, who started 14th, was running ninth when Montoya's Dodge clipped the right rear of Busch's in turn 11. Busch spun toward the outside wall, but did not hit anything. He fell to 23rd in the running order before he was finally able to get back running with the pack

Originally, the plan was to pit on lap 72, but after the spin, crew chief Pat Tryson decided to pit Busch on lap 58 during the race's sixth caution period. However, that forced Busch to make a third pit stop before the race ended.
"We were on a two-stop strategy and it ended up being three," Busch said. "It wasn't good for us. We could have made the car a little better. We'll come back at The Glen with a stronger Dodge Avenger. We got tagged in turn 11 by Montoya, a Formula One winner and a NASCAR winner. That doesn't happen every day."

Tryson, who made his debut Sunday as Busch's new crew chief, said he never thought the race would go the final 40 laps without a yellow flag.

"We got behind and we had to take that chance of pitting early," Tryson said. "If we'd gotten a couple of cautions, we might could have salvaged a top-10 finish out of it. But with no yellows, we were forced to hit pit road again with a few laps left to get a splash of fuel and that put us on back there in the finishing order."

With 10 races remaining to determine who makes the 2007 "Chase for the Championship", Busch remains 16th in the standings, 171 points behind 12th.

The NEXTEL Cup tour now moves to the flat, 1-mile New Hampshire International Raceway for the LENOX Industrial Tools 300. Sunday's race is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast by TNT and MRN Radio.

Ryan Newman Finishes 20th at Sonoma for the Toyota/Savemart 350

I did not see much of the race, but Ryan Nemwan and his #12 Alltel Dodge Team finished 20th at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoman, CA.

Ryan Newman started 9th in the road course race, but I believe he fell to 20th with a late pit stop for fuel as most of the rest of the field had to do as well.

Newman did increase in the points standings to 13th. Not to bad to start the race 15th in the points standings, finish 20th, and increase your points standings to 13th!!

Newman has been flirting with the ever elusive 12th position in the points standings for weeks now. Everytime he gets close, his bad luck strikes again and he gets bumped back down a couple. He is now -96 points behind the #8 of Dale Earnhardt JR.'s 12th place in standings. Even though Newman gained 2 positions, he fell another 21 points farther away from 12th.

Hopefully there is better luck in store for Ryan Newman and his Penske Racing #12 Alltel Dodge team next week at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Ryan Newman Practice Num 3 For Toyota/Savemart 350 Results

Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge team had their third practice at Infineon Raceway today for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Toyota/Savemart 350

Newman had the 6 fastest practice speed of 91.398 mph / 78.382 sec.

Newman was -0.163 seconds behind the leader Denny Hamlin who had a practice time of 91.589 / 78.219.


Practice 1 --- Newman had the 8 fastest practice speed of 92.196 mph / 77.704 sec.
practice 2--- Newman had the 12 fastest practice speed of 91.853 mph / 77.994 sec.
.
Ryan Newman Qualified 9 for the Toyota/Savemart 350.
Good luck to Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge Penske Racing Team in the Toyota/Savemart 350 at Infineon Raceway

Practice 3 Results

Practice 2 Results

Practice 1 Results

Qualifying Order

Ryan Newman 12 For Toyota/Savemart 350 2nd Practice

Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge team had their second practice at Infineon Raceway today for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Toyota/Savemart 350
Newman had the 12 fastest practice speed of 91.853 mph / 77.994 sec.

Newman was -0.403 seconds behind the leader Juan Montoya* who had a practice time of 92.33 / 77.591.


Practice 2 Results

Practice 1 Results

Qualifying Order



Good luck to Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge Penske Racing Team in the Toyota/Savemart 350 at Infineon Raceway

Ryan Newman Qualified 9 for the Toyota/Savemart 350.

Ryan Newman has qualified 9 for the Toyota/Savemart 350 at the Infineon Raceway. Newman had a speed of 92.051 / 77.826 / -0.305.

Today's 9 place qualifying will give Newman and his #12 NASCAR Nextel Cup Team and average start this season of 16.67.

Jamie McMurray got the pole position for the Toyota/Savemart 350 with a time of 184.8 / 38.961.

Good luck to Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge Penske Racing Team in the Toyota/Savemart 350 at Infineon Raceway

Qualifying Order

Practice 1 Results

Ryan Newman 8 For Toyota/Savemart 350 1st Practice

Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge team had their first practice at Infineon Raceway today for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Toyota/Savemart 350

Newman had the 8 fastest practice speed of 92.196 mph / 77.704 sec.

Newman was -0.165 seconds behind the leader Bobby Labonte who had a practice time of 92.392 / 77.539.



Practice 1 Results

Good luck to Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge Penske Racing Team in the Toyota/Savemart 350 at Infineon Raceway

Newman hopes hot streak continues at Sonoma race

Ryan Newman this week didn't completely close the door on speculation he's part of the Nextel Cup Series' "Silly Season" mix, but he hinted a driver shortage might be behind team owners being more interested in him, than he is in leaving his Penske Racing team.

Penske has fielded Newman's cars since his first ARCA RE/MAX Series stock car start in 2000 and his Cup debut at the end of that year.

"Yeah, I have no reason not to be [where I want to be]," Newman said. "Roger has given me great resources. I'm happy where I'm at [but] I think with the quality rides that are open that they're looking for some drivers to put in there, and I think there is somewhat of a driver shortage right now in the Cup Series.

"It doesn't surprise me, but I'll approach any situation the way I feel I need to."

Newman made no bones about the fact he and his Penske Racing No. 12 Dodge teammates are keen to continue a streak of strong runs this weekend in Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

"I think we have a really good opportunity to get in the Chase," Newman said. "At this point last year I thought we had a mathematical chance to make it, but I didn't think we were going to with our performances.

"This year with our recent performances and even the problems we had at Michigan, blowing that tire, we still had a top-seven racecar. We ran on the racetrack and would have finished seventh or eighth or so.

"That's a lot of hope. I'm looking forward to these next races and our COT program, on top of that, has been very strong. I think we're one of the top COT teams, and with the stretch of races of that's right before the Chase, I think we'll have a good shot before, during and after."

Newman, who was akin to a supernova on the Cup horizon in 2003 and 2004, when he scored 20 of his 41 career Bud Poles and 10 of his 12 victories, has been more reserved of late.

His career hit its post-nova nadir in 2006 when Newman neither won nor qualified for the Chase for the Nextel Cup. He was 18th in the standings, the first year since he started full-time in 2002 that he was out of the year-end top 10.

So far in 2007, Newman's looking to correct that.

He has double the poles (four to two), more top fives (three to two) and one less top 10 (six to seven) in 15 races than he achieved all of last season in 36.

"I can't really quantify it, I can just tell you from a team standpoint the guys are doing a good job of preparing the racecars," Newman said. "The cars are faster, which makes my job easier."

Newman might not be able to tell you exactly how, but he's certainly enjoying the results.

"I think the most important part is just from a mental standpoint," Newman said. "My confidence in driving the car, [crew chief] Michael Nelson's confidence in my reports about what the car is doing and the changes we've made to make the car faster have been the biggest thing.

"My confidence to be able to hit my marks and drive the car the way I want to drive it for that extra tenth of a second is really big."

And he has no reason to believe it won't continue this weekend at Infineon, where he and Penske teammate Kurt Busch finished second and fifth, respectively, last season.

"In my opinion, the COT has been better on the road course as far as testing goes compared to the COT on the short track so I don't think it's going to be that much different [than the standard cars]," Newman said. "I think the biggest reason why, is the COT is a non offset car, so it's more conducive to road-course racing."

Newman cited his teammates' cooperation as a big part of both teams' success, which has resulted in them sitting 15th and 16th in the standings, 11 races before the cutoff for the Chase.

"I think the third part of [our improvement] is the two teams are really working good together," Newman said. "They've never worked better together, I can tell you that -- and I think there's still room for the two teams to grow working together.

"That's been a big part of our improvement as well."

Newman expecting a difficult race this weekend

Ryan Newman enjoys driving road-course cars, but that doesn't mean he's a huge fan of this style of racing.

Newman finished second at Infineon Raceway last year, so he's obviously figured something out. But he points out some of the more frustrating aspects of this style of racing we well.

"It's fun to drive the cars," he said. "It's more fun to drive a road-race car than it is to race a road-race car, because it seems like any time you have somebody in front of you, you're falling behind in nine of the 11 corners because there's only two good passing zones. It's not like an oval as far as having the opportunity to pass the guy four times a lap."

The races are demanding on drivers as well.

Newman says that the timing of the races as well as their nature can make things tough.

"They're more demanding, both physically and mentally," he said. "Last year, the toughest race I had physically was Sonoma because of the heat. I was uncomfortable in the race car.

"I had a charley horse and some burns on my butt afterwards."

He says that's one challenge, but the mental wear may be even worse.

"Mentally, keeping the car on the race track, knowing what you have to do because you get basically two opportunities to pit the car, maybe three this year because of the strategy with the fuel cell ... with either way, you've got to stay on top of your game," he said. "You've got to keep it on the race track. You can't afford to give up any track position whatsoever throughout the entire race.

"That keeps it mentally demanding."

Recovering from the race can take a couple of days, too.

"Dehydration is a big part of it," Newman said. "If you can stay hydrated, it takes a lot less time to rebound. Last year, when I was burned a little bit, it took four, five or six days."

AT&T files response to NASCAR's appeal

Claiming that Sprint Nextel is trying to increase the value of its NASCAR series sponsorship by "booting" AT&T from the sport, AT&T filed its answer to NASCAR and Sprint Nextel's appeal of an injunction that allows the AT&T logos on the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing car.

AT&T's response was filed earlier this week in U.S. appeals court in Atlanta.

A U.S. district court judge ruled May 18 that NASCAR could not prohibit a change from Cingular to AT&T logos on the car driven by Jeff Burton. The judge concluded that the change was not prohibited by the grandfather clause that went into effect when Nextel began sponsoring NASCAR's premier series in 2004. The grandfather clause is part of RCR's annual licensing contract with NASCAR.

AT&T and Cingular were involved in a merger in December 2006, sparking the change in the Cingular name to AT&T.

A hearing on the appeal is scheduled for Aug. 2, and AT&T's brief argues that the appeal should be denied.

"Although NASCAR asserts without support that the court's injunction compromises its ability to govern the sport and attract sponsors, NASCAR in fact retains today the same rights over stock-car racing that it held before the district court acted, which includes the right to govern the sport and to contract with sponsors regarding promotional rights," AT&T argues in its court filing.

AT&T claims that because Nextel allowed NASCAR to grandfather in Cingular and Alltel, it already diluted the value of its sponsorship.

"Nextel not only agreed to grandfather competitors but also acknowledged [in its NASCAR contract] that this grandfathering would limit the value of its exclusivity," AT&T states in its filing. "Beyond that, although Sprint Nextel emphasizes that the 'AT&T' brand is used to sell more services than the 'Cingular' brand, Nextel is a wireless company; it does not even sell those other services (several of which are in any event excluded from Nextel's exclusivity)."

As far as NASCAR's argument that it can approve or deny sponsors as dictated in the rule book, AT&T said that the grandfather clause overrules the rule book.

"Because NASCAR grandfathered [AT&T's] and RCR's sponsorship relationship and thereby promised 'to preserve and protect' [AT&T's] sponsorship rights, ... it cannot in good faith exercise any discretion that it may have under the Rule Book in derogation of that promise," AT&T's claim states.

NASCAR had argued that if AT&T wanted to stay in the sport, it could do so but just not sponsor a car in the Nextel Cup Series. AT&T scoffs at that philosophy.

"The ability to advertise in, for example, the 'Busch Series' is no more a substitute for sponsoring the #31 car than the ability to advertise on the uniforms of the Durham Bulls could supplant the right to do so with the Atlanta Braves," AT&T states.

The AT&T brief does not mention the $100 million counterclaim NASCAR filed last Sunday against AT&T because that is not part of the appeal on the injunction.

Ryan Newman and the Infineon Raceway

Welcome to Infineon Raceway located in Sonoma, CA.

Ryan Newman and his Penske Racing #12 Alltel Dodge will be racing here this weekend in the Toyota/Save Mart 350.
Infineon Raceway


***Location : Sonoma, CA
***Completed : 1968
***Distance : 1.99 miles
***Shape : Road course
***Turns : 12


***Nextel Cup Top Race Speed : 81.413 by Ernie Irvan on 6/7/1992
***Nextel Cup Top Qualifying Speed : 99.309 by Rusty Wallace on 6/23/2000


MANUFATURER WINS AT Infineon Raceway SINCE 2002
DODGE = 0
FORD = 1
CHEVROLET = 4


RYAN NEWMAN'S STATS AT Infineon Raceway

Ryan Newman's Stats
At Infineon Raceway		At Road Tracks
STARTS	5	10
POLES	0	NA
WINS	0	0
TOP 5	2	3
TOP 10	4	7
AVG START	13.4	10.5
AVG FINISH	7.8	11.4
LAPS COMP	550	NA
% COMP	-1	NA
LAPS LED	11	NA
TOTAL $$$	647598	NA

-- This weekend, Newman and the Alltel team will use chassis PRS-517. It is a new COT car that Newman tested at Virginia International Raceway on June 13. It has not been on any other track. The backup car is PRS-511. This COT car ran at Martinsville in April. Newman qualified 24th after spinning during his second qualifying lap and avoiding the wall. He finished 14th in the race.

Newman On Sonoma: “I like driving the road courses; it’s a nice change of pace. I’ve had some success at both Infineon and Watkins Glen, so I always look forward to driving at those two tracks.”

“We had a little bit of a setback at Michigan. There was nothing we could’ve done differently. We had a good car, we just ran into some bad luck. We’ve got a really good COT program, so we’ll head out to Sonoma and try to get back some of the momentum we lost this weekend.”

Good luck to Ryan Newman and the Penske Racing's #12 Alltel Dodge NASCAR Nextel Cup Team at Infineon Raceway for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 this coming week and weekend!!!


Mike Pratt

Michigan: Dodge teams race quotes

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 alltel Dodge Charger)

“We had a real good car, but we didn’t have a car that could have beat Carl Edwards today. We just caught a piece of debris or something and it popped that tire. It wrapped itself around the caliper and rotor and stuff and it cost us three laps. Jeff Green ran out of talent there off turn two and caused a big crash. The race track is capable of going three and four wide. We saw it all day, but he couldn’t do it. We’re just like everybody else. We’ll work hard on our road course program and hopefully Sonoma goes better for us.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger)

“My right front tire went flat and I just hit the hell out of the wall. The car was very loose. I’d got in the wall a couple of laps before. I didn’t think it was anything major. My spotter said it looked good. It was wrinkled, but it looks good, and five or six laps later the tire went flat and it went straight into the wall.”

***

REED SORENSON (No. 41 Target Dodge Charger)

“We had a real fast car in practice, and I thought we were going to qualify better than we did. I really didn’t know what to expect in the race, but we hung in there and got a decent finish. I guess we had the best finishing Dodge, but the Dodge Boys didn’t have a real good day today. We’ll get ‘em next week in Sonoma.”

***

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)

“We had a good car that ran in the top five most of the day. We had to come in on lap 166 to change a loose lugnut, and the car got really loose after that.”

***

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)

“We were able to get the car to turn in the corners with the 2006 nose, but we couldn’t get the back of the car hooked up. We made progress as the race went on, but we couldn’t overcome the early deficit. I thought we made progress with the car yesterday and was optimistic we could have a good finish. It didn’t work out that way.”

***

SCOTT RIGGS (No. 10 Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge Charger)

“We were way too free on entry for most of the race. By the time we got the handling improved we had already been caught two laps down after a green flag stop. The guys on pit road did an incredible job today, and everyone has been working really hard and doing the right things. But finishing this far back is not going to be enough to get us into the top 35.”

[Dodge Motorsports]

Burton, AT&T agree upon extensions with Childress

---This is GREAT! AT&T signs an extension right as NASCAR sues them. I don't know the state of Allte's contract, I believe it is through 2008 but I am not sure. But they need to get going on the extension as well. I assume AT&T has sped this process up a little as "fighting power" against NASCAR's law suit.

GO AT&T !!!! Down with NEXTEL - have I mentioned that I work for Alltel --- Oh well!!

STORY from NASCAR.com -

ATLANTA -- Jeff Burton has reached an agreement with Richard Childress Racing on a contract extension and at the same time AT&T has exercised the option in its current contract with RCR by signing an extension that will ensure that the No. 31 AT&T Chevrolet remains a competitor in the Nextel Cup Series for years to come.

"As long-time supporters of racing and its fans, we are very pleased to continue our involvement with the sport as a team sponsor in the wireless category," said Dave Garver, executive director of high growth segments and sponsorships for the wireless division at AT&T. "We've enjoyed our relationship with Jeff and RCR, and look forward to continuing to work with them through many more winning seasons.

"In the past decade, we've developed innovative ways to bring fans closer to racing, with interactive content that can be accessed via their wireless handsets, alerts sent directly to their phones and on-the-ground activities promoting wireless services at and around racing events. We're looking ahead, planning even more engaging ways to bring the latest in wireless technology to fans."

AT&T, formerly Cingular, has sponsored a Cup Series team for 10 years, and is in its sixth season with RCR's No. 31 Chevrolet program. Since 2002, with Burton and Robby Gordon behind the wheel, the team has earned four wins, four pole positions, 22 top-five and 54 top-10 finishes.

"AT&T has been an important part of RCR since 2002 so we're very excited about renewing our contract with them and continuing that great relationship," Richard Childress said. "AT&T has been a tremendous supporter of RCR's fans and racing fans throughout the sport for more than a decade and I am eager to turn our full attention back to winning a championship.

"Jeff has been an important piece of the puzzle since he arrived at RCR in 2004. He's helped our entire organization since that time and will continue in that role. He's a true professional, whether it's with his crew or with sponsors, so we're very pleased to have him signed to a new long-term contract."

Burton began driving for RCR in August 2004 and was named the driver of its No. 31 team for the 2005 Cup season. He has earned two victories, four pole positions, 15 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes in 85 races driving the No. 31 AT&T Chevrolet.

"I'm really excited about AT&T extending their involvement with RCR. They've been a great company to work with," Burton said. "They have great people and great products. It's a real honor to represent AT&T both on and off the track."

"My enthusiasm about what we are doing at RCR is as high as it's ever been. I've never even considered doing something different. I'm glad we were able to re-sign with AT&T so that Richard and I could get our deal done. It's a real honor to drive for Richard and I am looking forward to continue working with him over the next few years."

NASCAR Sues AT&T for $100 mil - Wants Alltel and AT&T Out

WOW - $100 Million and Kick AT&T and Alltel out of the cup series. Are they serious? I don't see this going anywhere, especially not kicking anyone out.

I understand NASCAR needs to protect it's "investment" with NEXTEL and I understand NEXTEL was "nice" buy letting Cingular and Alltel stay in the game.

I also believe that while NASCAR has filed this suit, NEXTEL is hammering them from all direction about this situation. NASCAR is in a sticky spot and is being made to look like the bad guy here. But I believe this is all NEXTEL having a fit and NASCAR is trying to make them happy.

But this really seems overboard to me. The story from NASCAR.com follows -

NASCAR sues AT&T for $100 million in countersuit
Also ask to kick Nextel competitors of out Cup Series

ATLANTA -- NASCAR filed a $100 million counter claim against AT&T Inc. on Sunday, accusing the wireless provider of interfering with its exclusive sponsorship agreement with rival wireless company Nextel.

The suit also asks that NASCAR be granted the right to kick AT&T -- and all telecommunications companies other than Nextel -- out of its top series in 2008.

NASCAR filed the suit electronically in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, alleging breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation, and conspiracy to aid and abet wrongful interference with Nextel.

NASCAR and AT&T have been battling all season over NASCAR's refusal to allow AT&T to put its logos on Jeff Burton's car. Burton and his Richard Childress Racing team have a sponsorship agreement with Cingular, which has since been purchased by AT&T.

AT&T is re-branding the company, but NASCAR would not allow the logos to be changed, citing its agreement with Nextel. Cingular and Alltel were grandfathered into the sport when Nextel entered in 2004, but no changes are permitted to their deals and no other telecommunications companies are allowed into the sport.

NASCAR claims Nextel has exclusivity through its 10-year, $700 million investment.

AT&T sued, and U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob issued a preliminary injunction last month that allowed the Cingular logos to be replaced. He also barred NASCAR and any entity affiliated with it from interfering with AT&T's rights as primary sponsor of the car in the Nextel Cup series.

Burton has raced with AT&T logos since the May 19 ruling. He and Childress both said Sunday they were close to a contract extension for both the driver and AT&T.

In its counterclaim, NASCAR charges that AT&T and Cingular breached its contract with NASCAR, noting the company agreed to abide by NASCAR rules.

NASCAR is seeking a ruling that it "may take certain actions for the 2008 season in order to protect NASCAR and all participants in the sport by placing NASCAR into full compliance with the terms and conditions of the Nextel Sponsorship Agreement.''

"Cingulars refusal to follow NASCAR rules and accept NASCARs denial of this paint scheme, and the filing of this lawsuit, has undermined NASCARs authority as the sanctioning body of stock car auto racing,'' said the suit.

Most notable among those "certain actions'' is that "NASCAR may exercise its discretion not to offer NASCAR membership to Cingular or AT&T for the 2008 Nextel Cup Series season.''

NASCAR also contends it should have the right to not offer a driver and car owner agreement for 2008 to any car sponsored by a telecommunications company other than Nextel.

Alltel sponsors Ryan Newman for Penske Racing.

NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said NASCAR does not comment on pending litigation.

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel could not be reached for comment.

Newman's promising weekend derailed

Monday, June 18, 2007
By Steve Kaminski
The Grand Rapids Press

BROOKLYN -- Ryan Newman's mother, Diane, sat down on a swivel chair atop her son's pit box and slowly rocked left to right, right to left, and left to right again.

Newman's wife, Krissie, grabbed a seat, too, and she fidgeted with her cell phone.

Race time was fast approaching.

Penske Racing South president Don Miller, team crew chief Mike Nelson and race engineer Travis Geisler sat glued in front of computers, with everything from a weather map, the starting lineup and the TNT television feed displayed on their monitors.

Moments later, the 43-car field took the green flag and raced down the Michigan International Speedway front stretch for the start of the Citizen's Bank 400 on Sunday.

Maybe it wasn't the best seat in the house. You could see only turn one and part of the front stretch, and you had to turn around and check out the Jumbotron to see what was going on down the back stretch.

However, if you wanted to know what was happening in Newman's world, this was the place to be.

The folks at Alltel, which sponsors Newman's No. 12 Dodge on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, invited me to watch Sunday's race from atop their pit box. Before that, they arranged an interview with Newman before Friday qualifying and time with the crew Sunday morning as they set up for the race.

Car fast, lifestyle not

The plan was to give me a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on during race weekend for a Nextel Cup team. I like what I saw.

First, a few things about Newman.

Maybe you think all Nextel Cup drivers live a jet-set
lifestyle, and I'm sure some do. Not Newman.

Do you know what Newman likes to do if he gets a break on
race weekend? He goes to junkyards.

"Usually you get Saturday afternoon off and you are able to do something fun, and I like to go fishing or to car shows," said Newman, 29. "I like to go to junkyards and look at the old cars. We have had bonfires."

What also impressed me about Newman is he does the best he can to be accessible to his fans, and simply signing a few autographs won't do. He hosts a weekly podcast at alltelracing.com and breaks down previous races, previews ones coming up and shares insight on his life and team.

As far as the team, it is professional all the way. Sunday had to be one of the team's most disappointing races of the season, but everyone kept their cool on a hot day.

Newman and his crew were confident they could win their first race since 2005. He had finished second in each of the past two races and had climbed to 13th in Nextel Cup points.

Case of bad luck

But things went bad 12 laps into the race when Newman suffered a cut tire. He nursed his car back into the pits, where rear tire changer Joe Piette desperately tried to pull off a piece of the destroyed rubber, which had wrapped around a caliper.

Piette looked like he was trying to rip a cheeseburger out of Rosie O'Donnell's hands, it was that difficult. Newman lost three laps in the pits, then lost one more lap later after being collected in an accident. He finished 37th.

A promising weekend went bad quickly, but there were no meltdowns.

"We had a real good car, but we didn't have a car that could have beat Carl Edwards today," Newman said. "We just caught a piece of debris or something, and it popped the tire."

Edwards snapped his 52-race winless drought when he held off Martin Truex to win Sunday's race.

Newman, a 12-time winner in Nextel Cup, hasn't won in 60 races. But, like Edwards, his day is coming.

Penske Racing endures long day at Michigan

BROOKLYN, Mich. - Penske Racing's drivers looked like they had finally escaped the bad luck that has dogged the team for months. Sunday proved that's not completely the case.

Both Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch suffered ill luck that cost them during the Citizens Bank 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Newman fell victim first, hitting something that caused a tire to fail, then getting caught up in a crash that cost him even more positions.

In the end, he finished 37th, four laps off the pace, and dropped two spots to 15th in the standings.

"We just caught a piece of debris or something and it popped that tire," he said. "It wrapped itself around the caliper and rotor and stuff and it cost us three laps."

Then came the crash.

"Jeff Green ran out of talent there ... [and] caused a big crash," Newman said. "The race track is capable of going three- and four-wide. We saw it all day, but he couldn't do it."

Green obviously saw things a little differently.

"[Newman] came across our nose on that restart," he said. "He was trying to get by [Jeff] Gordon and get a lap back, but I don't know what made him think he could squeeze in there. Maybe his spotter told him he was clear. It tore our right-front fender off, and that took us out of it."

Later, Newman's teammate would also find problems. Busch was putting together a good outing before a loose lug nut forced him to make an unscheduled pit stop and cost him his shot at a strong finish. Busch finished 25th but remained 16th in the standings.

Ryan Newman Finishes 37th at Michigan International Speedway

Ryan Newman's weekend started pretty good with a 4th place qualifying run for the Citizens Bank 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. This 4th place started ended a streak of 3 pole positions.

The race started under hot and humid conditions at MIS. As soon as the green flag dropped Newman was working his way to the front and by lap 3 he was in second.

Then Ryan Newman adn his #12 Alltel Dodge Team's bad luck fell on them once again. On lap 14 Newman fell out of the top five with a tire going down. By the time he came into the pits the tire had come apart and wrapped itself around everything in the wheel well. His crew worked frantically ripping pieces of tire out and eventually had to get the saws-all out to cut tire out from the shocks and springs.

Newman re-entered the race 3 laps down. This is where he stayed for the rest of the day and ultimatly ending up 4 laps down and in 37th place. Newman did race very hard on restarts in an attempt to regain a lap(s) but this did not work out for him.

Hopefully Newman will have better luck next week at Infineon Raceway, NASCAR Nextel Cup's first road course of the season. This will also be a COT race.

Newest Ryan Newman Fan / NASCAR Fan On The Way - It's a Girl

I don't post much personal stuff on here, but I am very excited.

My girlfriend and I found out a couple of months ago that she was pregnant. We are both very excited and plan on getting married next summer - so I guess she is my fiance.

We found out on Thursday that we are having a girl. We are both very excited!!! We were both leaning towards wanting a boy for a couple of minor reasons, but the ultrasound tech said it was a girl and I could tell Jeni wanted to cry (out of joy). I must admit I was a little choked up too for the same reason. Me and my little princess!!!

Her name will be, or is I quess Faith Ann!!

My girlfriend and her son T.J. live with me. T.J. is one reason we were "leaning" towards wanting a boy. He is currently 14 months old and my brother and I were almost exactly 2 years apart from each other (me being the oldest) and grew up being best friends. The other minor reason for me wanting a boy is that my family name ends with me (that might actually be a good thing..hahahah). But we plan on going for more, so maybe next time...or the time after...or the time......wait....we will have to quit sometime!!!!

But a little girl. WOW. I told my Jeni that she is definetly going to have to be the stong hand with Faith. I just can't imagine my little girl looking up at me and me having to punish her!! Now T.J. (I consider him mine, and he really only knows me.....I am dad) I can punish. Another boy.....I can punish.......but my little princess?? WOW!

Anyway's, thanks for reading.......I (we) am SO EXITED I can barely contain myself.

So, even at 14 months, T.J. will get "engrossed" with the cars on T.V. on Sundays. So I am hoping that Faith will be the same way.

Jeni has already informed me that Faith IS NOT coming home from the hospital in a NASCAR outfit. Oh well, I win some of the fights...maybe :)

Mike, Jeni, T.J. and Faith.

Ryan Newman Qualified 4th for the Citizens Bank 400.

Ryan Newman has qualified 4th for the Citizens Bank 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. Newman had a speed of 186.596 / 38.586 / -0.187.

Today's 4th place qualifying will give Newman and his #12 NASCAR Nextel Cup Team and average start this season of 16.67.

J.J. Yeley got the pole position for the Citizens Bank 400 with a time of 184.8 / 38.961.

Good luck to Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge Penske Racing Team in the Citizens Bank 400 at Michigan International Speedway


Qualifying Order

Practice 1 Results

Practice 2 Results

Practice 3 Results

RYan Newman's Practice Results At Michigan International Speedway-32nd, 9th and 20th

PRACTICE 1
Newman had the 32nd fastest practice speed of 183.861 mph / 39.16 sec.

Newman was -0.604 seconds behind the leader Martin Truex Jr. who had a practice time of 186.741 / 38.556.

PRACTICE 2
Newman had the 9 fastest practice speed of 184.37 mph / 39.052 sec.

Newman was -0.459 seconds behind the leader Carl Edwards who had a practice time of 186.562 / 38.593.

PRACTICE 3
Newman had the 20 fastest practice speed of 180.982 mph / 39.783 sec.

Newman was -0.822 seconds behind the leader Carl Edwards who had a practice time of 184.8 / 38.961.

Practice 3 Results

Practice 2 Results

Practice 1 Results

Qualifying Order

Dodge Qualifying Quotes from Michigan

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 alltel Dodge Charger)
“The alltel Dodge was good with the race laps we ran in practice, and I’m just looking forward to the race. It’s nice to start up front to get a good pit selection. I like this track a lot. It’s a fun racetrack. It’s not real hard to drive. It’s a lot more fun to race than it is to qualify because of how wide it is. You can draft down the straightaways and have fun in the corners. I just look forward to the race on Sunday. We’ve got a good alltel Dodge.

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)
“I think the racetrack is all right. An early draw probably isn’t the best thing today but Biffle went fifth tenths quicker than we did, so it’s working for him. They’re pretty quick. We’re all right. The car is driving decent. We’ll keep working on it and hopefully have a good racecar for Sunday. I’m looking forward to it. We won this race last year, so it would be nice to run up front again this weekend.”

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)
“It was a pretty good lap for the Miller Lite Dodge. We had everything in the car we needed. We made the right adjustments. The track temperature was just a little bit warm. That made it a little tight in turn four. I think the track will stay consistent for everybody and we should see the fastest car sit on the pole today. I heard (Kyle Busch) ran a good time, and I thought we had it in our car. We just didn’t get through turn four as clean as we needed to. We were just a little bit on the tight side. We’re happy with that. I don’t know where we’ll end up, but we should be able to see the front.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger)
“The first lap was OK. The second lap was a lot better, but the second lap is normally slower. We ran about the same speed we ran in practice. I think there’s a lot more in the car.”

REED SORENSON (No. 41 Target Dodge Charger)
“It felt really good. We just weren’t as fast as we were in practice. This is a brand new car. We were in race trim for a little bit this morning, and it felt really good. We should be fine. I thought we were a lot faster. I was really surprised it wasn’t.”

SCOTT RIGGS (No. 10 Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge Charger)
“I’m pretty happy. A lot of guys seem to be slowing down, but we picked up. I’m glad we took our time and made the right decisions. It’s nerve-racking every Friday. You’ve got to make sure you get in the show, and it sort of puts you behind in your race preparation. You miss that because you’re so focused on going fast for two laps.”

JOHN ANDRETTI (No. 45 American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge Charger)
“We made some changes and we were better. It was just like another day of practice. I think we did something that if I’d had more experience maybe I wouldn’t have done. The guys did a great job. We’ll start from wherever we start and go from there. Qualifying is one thing and racing is another. I’ll feel good about the car on Sunday by then for sure.”

DAVID STREMME (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Charger)
“I just tried to hit my marks and get through one and two the best I could. The guys did a great job and gave me a great car. Now I’ve got to get to Kentucky for the Busch race tonight.”

BOBBY LABONTE (No. 43 Cheerios/Dodge Charger)
“We worked all day getting the car to turn. Obviously we’ve still got some work left to do, but I think we’ll be in good shape Sunday.”

ELLIOTT SADLER (No.19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)
“We’ve got some work to do on our Dodge Charger to get it ready for Sunday, but I’m confident our guys will get this car where it needs to be. This is a big track where you have lots of room to pass, so we’ll use that to our advantage on Sunday to work our way up through the field.”

Can I Still Be A Dale Earnhardt JR Fan With JR at Hendrick?

Absolutely I can!!! Why not? Because I really don't like Gordon and Johnson? That sounds silly. I am obviously a Ryan Nemwan Fan and I really don't like Kurt Busch. So why can't I be a Dale Earnhardt JR fan and still "strongly dislike" Gordon and Johnson? The answer is that I can.

JR fans should not be discouraged by this what so ever. And despite what a lot of people seem to think, Dale JR and Gordon are friends. Gordon and Johnson definetly have something going right over at Hendricks, so why can't Dale JR feed off of that and make himself better. I honestly don't think it will be long before JR is the star in that camp (you know what I mean).

So, in my humble opinion, all this talk about JR fans being upset is.....crazy. If your a Dale JR fan you should be excited. Good things should happen for him over at Hendrick. If your a fan, that should be what you want to see - a good thing happening for your driver.

How great will that be to see Dale Earnhardt JR pass his team mates Gordon and Johnson for the win.....at the Daytona 500 even. GOD, doesn't that sound sweet!!!

And let's not forget one important thing during all these talks about Dale Earnhardt JR............ROOT FOR NEWMAN AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY THIS WEEKEND....IF SOMEONE NEEDS A WIN RIGHT NOW IT IS RYAN NEWMAN AND HIS #12 ALLTEL DODGE.

Ryan Newman Finsihes 4th at Michigan' Berlin Raceway

LOCAL NEWS
GRAND RAPIDS-- Nextel Cup star Ryan Newman arrived at Berlin Raceway about 45 minutes before his race's scheduled start Wednesday.

Racing in the FOX 17 150, Newman flew in from Virginia, where he was testing his NASCAR ride all day.

Not able to qualify for the event, Newman started the 150 lap race at the back of the field in 17th position.

By lap 47, Newman had worked his way into the top five, eventually reaching third place. A string of caution laps, however, kept his car from the top spot, eventually finishing in fourth.

After running the first 47 laps of the race without caution, the remainder was marred by yellow flags.

Winning the race was Ron Gregory, the fastest qualifier earlier in the day. Gregory held off Newman's teammate Dave Darland for the win.

Finishing the top five were Brian Tyler, Ryan Newman and Bobby East.

berlin raceway

It's Official - JR is going to Hendricks!

Dale Earnhardt JR and Rick Hendrick announced today that JR will be driving for Hendrick in 2008 and beyond.

This is a great move for JR's career. He said that he wanted to win championships. I think for his sake he went to the right place.

It is not clear what car number JR will be driving. Hendrick did say that he would listen to what DEI had to say if they wanted to give up the #8. Chances of that happening are pretty slim.

The internet is "all a buzz" about JR fans leaving JR because of the Gordon "thing". Whatever! If you are a JR fan, then your a JR fan.

And Kyle Busch released a statement saying that he and Hendrick could not come to an agreement on a contract, so that Hendrick agreed to let him go. That tells me that Hendrick did not boot him out to make room for JR. But who knows.

Dale Earnhardt JR Press Conference WED 11 a.m. - Hendricks Lets Kyle Busch Go

Title should say it all.

Dale JR is having a press conference tommorrow at 11 am from his JR Motorsports facility. It will be about his future and future team for 2008 and on. It has not been said where he will go, but...........

In possibly related news, Hendricks has supposedly let Kyle Busch go.

HHMMMM. I wonder where JR may be going.

The Charlotte observer has reported that "the Observer confirmed that Richard Childress was out of the country on vacation with members of his family. Officials at Joe Gibbs Racing told scenedaily.com that the company would not be involved in a news conference today, and Ginn Racing said the same thing to the Observer."

Now, nothing is concrete until we here it from the man himself, but I think it is pretty obvious.

I think that this is great for JR. Kyle Busch??? Who cares?? I don't. The bad part for me is that if JR wins alot next year, then I have to be happy that Hendricks won.....yes another race. How many people will be screaming "Hendricks won again" in agony if it is JR. Probably not to many. Except, to be truthful, I don't want to see my guy win every week. It would get boring.

And for the conspiracy people. UH-OH....now NASCAR can help out JR, Gordon and Johnson. Maybe they can throw flag just right to get all three in the top 3.

For those who don't know, JR is my #2 favorite.

Well, more to follow. This at least looks like a done deal. But, you can't always judge a book by it's cover.

Charlotte Observer Story

Ryan Newman Foundation Updates

Newmans to sign Pit Road Pets at Meaty Bone tent on Saturday, June 16 in MI

Ryan and Krissie Newman will sign copies of the charity book, Pit Road Pets: NASCAR Stars and Their Pets, during the upcoming Michigan weekend. The book signing will be held on Saturday, June 16, 2007 from 3:30 to 4:30 PM at the Meaty Bone tent located in the Juniper Hills Campground across from Michigan International Speedway's main gate.

The book signing will be limited to the first 125 fans holding an autograph session ticket. Autograph session tickets may be picked up at the Meaty Bone tent beginning Friday, June 15 from 1:00 to 5:00 PM and Saturday, June 16 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

Fans may either bring a previously purchased copy of the book to the signing or purchase the book at Newman's Motorsports Authentics trackside souvenir rig. Newman will sign up to two copies of Pit Road Pets in addition to one other item per person.

For more information about this book signing and the games and contests at the Meaty Bone tent this weekend, visit Pit Road Pets Book Signings.

Newmans accept $300,000 donation from the ASPCA to the Humane Alliance National Spay/Neuter Response Team

The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced a $300,000 sponsorship for the Humane Alliance of Western North Carolina's National Spay/Neuter Response Team (NSNRT) to provide a strategic training program and facilitators to mentor organizations to open and operate 12 new high-volume, high quality spay/neuter clinics across the country in 2007.

Ed Sayres, president of the ASPCA, presented the $300,000 pledge to Humane Alliance director Quita Mazzina and NSNRT spokespeople Ryan and Krissie Newman at the Humane Society of Catawba County (HSCC), which will operate one of the model spay/neuter clinics, in Hickory , NC . The clinic will be part of the Humane Society’s multipurpose animal welfare facility that is currently under construction.

The Humane Society of Catawba County's Spay/Neuter clinic is being built through a $400,000 donation from the Ryan Newman Foundation. Ryan and Krissie Newman are the national spokespeople for the Humane Alliance's National Spay/Neuter Response Team (NSNRT) and honorary capital campaign co-chairs for the Humane Society of Catawba County. HSCC still has to raise an additional $300,000 to complete the capital campaign for their no-kill animal shelter, education center and spay/neuter clinic that is scheduled to open in November 2007.

The NSNRT operates much like a NASCAR pit crew, sending groups of trained vets and veterinary technicians to help nonprofit organizations learn how to open spay/neuter clinics using the Humane Alliance model.

A total of 22 organizations around the country--including the Humane Society of Catawba County--have applied to open spay/neuter clinics, and a minimum of 12 of the 22 will open this year with help from the ASPCA's funding of the NSNRT. These organizations will partner with hundreds of local animal shelters and rescue groups in their regions across the nation.

The Humane Alliance of Western North Carolina is a non-profit high volume, high quality, affordable spay/neuter clinic located in Asheville . Since its inception 12 years ago, The Humane Alliance clinic has sterilized 180,000 companion animals and reduced the euthanasia rate in the Asheville community by an astounding 72 percent.

Through the NSNRT initiative, which began in 2005, the Humane Alliance’s team of facilitators has mentored 21 organizations across the nation to successfully implement its high volume, high quality spay/neuter model. More than 200,000 companion animals have been surgically sterilized at these clinics in just two short years. NSNRT has already trained six organizations so far this year.

Win a Ranger Boat!

HOLD THE DATE: Charity fishing tournament scheduled for Saturday, December 8, 2007 -- VIP Dinner/Auction on Dec 7

Join Ryan Newman and friends for the 2nd Annual Ryan Newman Foundation Charity Fishing Tournament, sponsored by Ranger Boats and facilitated by FLW Outdoors.
Mark your calendars for the Second Annual Ryan Newman Foundation Celebrity Charity Fishing Tournament, which is scheduled for Saturday, December 8, 2007 on Lake Norman in North Carolina. This year registration will be held in the late afternoon on Friday, December 7, 2007 followed by the VIP Reception and Auction in Mooresville. VIP Reception tickets will be sold separately. Additional details will be announced soon via email and the Ryan Newman Foundation website.

Ryan Newman's #12 Penske Racing Alltel Dodge pit crew claimed victory in the NASCAR Nextel Pit Crew Challenge on May 16th. The team’s first win in the event netted the crew $70,000. Additionally, The NASCAR Foundation made an $11,000 donation to the charity of team's choice, which was the Ryan Newman Foundation. The winning crew accepted the donation check for their win, which was presented to Ryan Newman and Ryan Newman Foundation Executive Director Rosalie De Fini at the NASCAR Day Telethon on Friday, May 18th.

Newman says, "I am incredibly proud of my guys. They work hard, and they finally got the recognition they deserve. Krissie and I really appreciate the team choosing our foundation for the NASCAR Foundation donation. That will go a long way in helping us fulfill the mission of our foundation."

Free Pit Road Pets posters at Kmart beginning June 26
The Meaty Bone brand, Ryan Newman Foundation and Kmart and are bringing exclusive NASCAR collectibles to Kmart shoppers. Beginning June 26, 2007 consumers who purchase two Meaty Bone or Chew-lotta products at any participating Kmart will get a free Pit Road Pets™: NASCAR Stars and Their Pets poster. The exclusive posters feature NASCAR drivers like Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Mark Martin and their pets. These posters are only available at Kmart through the month of July while supplies last.


info from the ryan newmna foundation newsletter

Ryan Newman and the Michigan International Speedway

Welcome to Michigan International Speedway located in Brooklyn, MI.

Ryan Newman and his Penske Racing #12 Alltel Dodge will be racing here this weekend in the Citizens Bank 400.

Michigan International Speedway


***Location : Brooklyn, MI
***Completed : 1968
***Distance : 2 miles
***Shape : D-shaped oval
***Seating : 137,243


***Nextel Cup Top Race Speed : 173.997 by Dale Jarrett on 6/13/1999
***Nextel Cup Top Qualifying Speed : 194.232 by Ryan Newman on 6/18/2005


MANUFATURER WINS AT Michigan International Speedway SINCE 2002
DODGE = 4
FORD = 6
CHEVROLET = 0


NEWMAN'S STATS AT Michigan International Speedway

STARTS = 11>>>Poles = 1>>>Wins = 2>>>Top 5 = 4>>>Top 10 = 4

Avg Start = 9.5>>>Avg Finish = 14.8>>>%Laps Comp = -0.8932>>>Laps Led = 92

NEWMAN'S STATS AT Intermediate Track 's
Races = 132>>>Wins = 11>>>Top 5 = 41>>>Top 10 = 57>>>Average Start = 8.1>>>Average Finish = 17

-- Newman and the Alltel team will use chassis PRS-071 this weekend. It was last used at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600. Newman won his first of three consecutive Bud Pole Awards with this car, but an engine failure eliminated him from the race. This chassis also ran in Texas, Las Vegas and Atlanta. The backup car is chassis PRS-053. It was tested at LMS in May, but has not been used in a race.

Newman On Michigan: “Michigan is my favorite track to race at. You can have really good side-by-side racing there and it’s a fast track. I’m excited to get to Michigan. We’ve been running so well and this is my home track. I have a lot of great memories here. We are so close to getting our next win and it would be awesome to get that win at Michigan. We’ve done it here before and this Alltel Dodge team has been working so hard and given me really fast race cars. I think we’re definitely capable of winning this weekend.”

Good luck to Ryan Newman and the Penske Racing's #12 Alltel Dodge NASCAR Nextel Cup Team at Michigan International Speedway for the Citizens Bank 400 this coming week and weekend!!!


Mike Pratt

Newman comes up short again, but sees big picture

Newman Reacts After Race Is Canceled The Rest Of The Pocono 500

LONG POND, Pa. -- For a guy who came within a car-length of winning Sunday's rain-soaked Pocono 500, Ryan Newman was in a pretty good mood.

If the rain that finally ended a very long and soggy day had waited just a few more seconds -- say, half a lap -- it might have been Newman walking to his first Victory Lane celebration since late in the 2005 season at Dover.

"Unfortunately, the rain came on the wrong lap," Newman said. "I'm not mad by any means. I won my first race because it rained out and got too dark. I guess it's only right I lose one that way at some point."

Even though Newman was rapidly gaining ground on eventual winner Jeff Gordon -- going from 3.2 seconds back to even with Gordon's door in a span of four laps -- he knew his chances of winning were all wet.

"It rained on me the lap before that and when we came back around, it rained even harder," Newman said. "It was pouring at that point. It's all in safety."

Team owner Roger Penske said the timing for his driver was unfortunate, but that's part of the strategy.

"We saw the rain was coming," Penske said. "Ryan had a good run there but at [that point in] the day, unfortunately, you can't wreck a bunch of cars because it's wet. They might have called it a little bit later but we've got to be careful we're not too greedy.

"We're trying to get into the top 12. I look at the weekend and say we made a lot of progress."

Penske said the finish reminded him of this year's Indianapolis 500, when impending rain wiped out the efforts of faster cars, including his own.

"We had the same situation at Indy," he said. "The rain came four minutes too soon there. It maybe came 10 seconds too soon [here]. But on the other hand, I think we just have to say, 'Hey, good race here, safe race and let's move on to Michigan."

Newman admitted that the ways things played out, there was little he could do except accept his second-place finish, his fifth top-10 run in the past six races.

"It's just the way it worked out," he said. "Obviously, we were four feet short, but there is no controversy about it. There was no way to get the race started back again. We felt like we had it all figured out until they called it."

A debris caution on Lap 64 turned out to be the deciding factor. Knowing no one could make it to the halfway point without another stop, Newman and crew chief Mike Nelson went ahead and pitted for two tires and fuel, as did many of the lead-lap cars. However, Gordon rolled the dice and stayed on the track, taking the lead with Newman restarting seventh.

"[Gordon was] in position track position-wise to stay out and get some clean air," Newman said. "They did what they could. They did what they had to do. Their car was still fast enough to stay out front even when they were off sequence."

Even though Gordon pitted on Lap 83, handing the lead back to Newman, it was just a matter of time before the No. 12 would have to head down pit road -- which happened eight laps later. That put Gordon back in front with more than enough fuel to hang on, but struggling to get around Tony Raines.

That gave both Newman and third-place Martin Truex Jr. some hope that they could complete the pass before the rains came.

"The 96 [Raines] was holding the 24 [Gordon] up pretty good for both of us," Newman said. "Jeff cleared him in Turn 1 and I had a run on both of them coming off. It just wasn't quite enough by the time I got to Turn 2.

"Jeff saw the rain for the first time the lap the caution came out. He checked up because he didn't know how hard it was raining. I just kept the pedal to the metal and came up four feet short or whatever."

All in all, Newman was also pleased with the long-term view. With his second consecutive second-place finish, Newman advanced to 13th in the standings -- 22 behind Mark Martin for what would be the final spot in this season's Chase for the Nextel Cup.

"[The rain] was unfortunate for us, but looking back at this come Chase time, you can't kick about one spot, maybe two spots, I hope, when it comes to making the Chase," he said.

---nascar.com

Gordon Wins Pocono Due To Rain - Conspiracy??

Jeff Gordon won the Pocono 500 after a yellow flag was brought out for rain on the 105th lap. Newman was just about half a car length away from completing the pass for 1st place at that moment.

I was amazed (OK, not really) at how the internet lit up with everyone yelling that NASCAR and Gordon were in bed together. Supposedly (I did not actually here it) seconds before the yellow came out and Gordon was being passed, Gordon came on the radio and said something to the effect that his breaks had gone and he needed help........then the yellow dropped.

Let's set this straight. If the flag had dropped 30 seconds prior or 10 seconds later (Newman would have probably passed), there probably would not be this "conspiracy mentality".

Newman, being the classy guy that he is, even said that it was raining on that end on the track on the prior lap and that by the time they came back around, the yellow should have been thrown because it was raining hard. He did not seem to have a problem with it at all. It even almost seemed like he backed off a little to let Gordon stay in the lead.

That could also be because he may have got a better finish than he would have if the race continued. Congradulations to Newman on the 2nd place finish, but in all reality Truex JR, Hamlin and some others had very good cars.

Here are some of Newman's quotes on the deal.

"Unfortunately, the rain came on the wrong lap," Newman said. "I'm not mad by any means. I won my first race because it rained out and got too dark. I guess it's only right I lose one that way at some point."

"It rained on me the lap before that, and when we came back around it rained even harder," said Newman, who led twice for 20 laps. "It was pouring at that point. It's all in safety. ...

"Obviously we were four feet short, but there is no controversy about it. In future reference, there was no way to get the race started back again. They would have had to make a controversial call at that point to shorten the race to a certain lap number with certain teams off sequence. We felt like we had it all figured out until they called it."

Of course the Tony Stewart/WWE comments were brought up as well. And while I KIND OF agreed with Stewart only because there does seem to be a lot of "debris" cautions and some do seem to fall at the right times for certain people, I did not buy into it being a big conspiracy.

And I am not going to allow myself to fall into for this race either. Newman did a great job. He got his 3rd straight pole (4th of the season) and finished 2nd for the last 2 races. He led laps again this race - about 20. He comes out of Pocono with 4 poles, 3 top 5's and 6 top 10's. 5 of the last six races have been top 10's. Can't really complain about that. Newman and his #12 Alltel Dodge team had a slow start this season and seem to be picking up steam now. 1 or 2 more good finishes and Newman will be in the top 12 for the chase. He is currently only 22 behind twelth.

So, all you Newman fans.......be happy. 2nd place is great and his win(s) are coming.

To all you Gordon haters (I am pretty much in this catagory) - oh well....he got another one, but I really don't think NASCAR made the desicion wether or not he was going to win.

Mike

Rain Delayed Pocono 500 - Rained Out At Lap 106 - Ryan Newman Finishes 2nd

Ryan Newman definetly had a car to beat today for the Pocono 500 after qualifying for the pole on Friday.

Newman led the field to the green flag at about 10 after 5 p.m. He did not lead lap one and fell back to about 5th before the lap was over. That was the farthest he fell back. After a couple pits, Newman car was looking very good. He had the car to beat.

On lap 64 the caution was thrown out for debris. A handful of cars stay out and the rest come in to the pits. Newman restarted about 8th and in no time was up to 5, then 3rd.

Teams and NASCAR start watching the radar at about lap 75 as more rain is moving in.

Then at about the half way mark, Nemwan was knocking on Gordon's bumper. The caution came out on lap 104 due to the rain. With only about a half a car length left to past Gordon for first place, the caution came out leaving Nemwan in 2nd.

At lap 107 the red flag came out for the track being wet. The rain ends pretty quick and they attempt to get the track dry. The problem is that it is also getting dark and is taking a long time to get the track dry.

At 7:35 p.m. NASCAR calls the race.

Ryan Newman and his #12 Alltel Dodge finished 2nd. The way his car was handling at the red flag, this could have been Newman's first win. But a a 2nd place finish here puts Nemwan in 13th just 22 points behind Mark Martin in 12th.

1. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
2. Ryan Newman, Dodge
3. Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet
4. Casey Mears, Chevrolet
5. Tony Stewart, Chevrolet
6. Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet
7. Mark Martin, Chevrolet
8. Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
9. Matt Kenseth, Ford
10. Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet

Unofficial Results

Engines fired in rain-delayed Pocono 500 Ryan Newman Leads The Field to Green

LONG POND, Pa. - The track is dry and the rain-delayed Pocono 500 is about to start. The race was delayed by a rain shower that hit the track about a 90 minutes before the scheduled start.

The engines were scheduled to be fired at 2:09 p.m. EDT for the race on the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway, but track personnel were still drying the racing surface at that time. Because the track is 2.5 miles, it takes 90 minutes to two hours to dry the track. With rain continuing throughout the afternoon, it was 4:40 p.m. EDT before the engines were actually started and drivers pulled onto the track.

According to the National Weather Service's Web site, there is a 30 percent chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms for the remainder of the day.